Ian JohnFish O Mania is to Angling what the FA Cup is to English football, or the Super Bowl is to American Football.
It is the hallmark prize of what is undoubtedly the biggest participation sport in the UK.
Every year thousands of the best match anglers in the country, plus a few pleasure anglers hoping for a bit of luck, compete across a series of qualifiers.
All in the hope of landing one of the prized pegs in the Fish O Mania final!
However, it is not just an event for male anglers. Women also compete too. There is also a junior event, qualifiers held for anglers not based in the UK and in past events, we have had celebrity tournaments too.
With live coverage on Sky Sports, a rarity for angling, it is the biggest event of the year and boasts one of the biggest prizes in the history of Angling. £50,000 for the winner!
Last year, it was Ellesmere Port’s Kristian Jones that won the tournament and he is back to defend the title this year.
Let’s take a look now at this popular event, beginning with a look at its history.
What Is The History Of Fish O Mania?
The first Fish O Mania was contested back in 1994 and it was the brainchild of Matchroom owner Barry Hearn.
Hearn realised there was a gap in the market for a huge ‘FA Cup style’ fishing tournament with big prize money and TV coverage. Hence, Fish O Mania was devised.
30 years on, the tournament has grown to now include Ladies and Junior National Champions, as well as anglers from mainland Europe who have two qualifiers of their own to compete in.
How Do Anglers Qualify For Fish O Mania?
Each year there are a series of 20 qualifying matches that take place across the UK.
There are also two qualifiers held abroad, while the current Fish O Mania champion, the 2023 Junior/Youth Champion and the 2023 Ladies National Champion are given a place in the Final.
That makes 25 total anglers competing in the final.
From March through to July, the UK qualifiers take place at a variety of fisheries around the country. The two international qualifiers also take place (usually in Germany and the Netherlands).
Anglers pay £30 to enter the qualifier and only the winning angler of each qualifying event earns a spot in the Fish O Mania final.
There’s £50,000 for the winner of the Fish O Mania final, £10,000 for the runner up, plus the lake is divided into sections and anglers can win £2,000 if they win their section on the lake.
Every finalist that does not earn one of the prizes available will earn £350 as a qualifier for the final.
How Do You Win Fish O Mania?
Assuming you are one of the 25 qualifiers for the Fish O Mania final, then the process to decide the winner is as follows:
- All 25 anglers turn up a day early to the venue for the Fish O Mania final.
- On the evening the night before the final, all 25 anglers draw their peg on the lake. This is the number of the swim on the lake from where they will fish the final.
- On finals day the anglers and their one bank runner (helper) head to their swim and set up before the final is scheduled to start.
- A klaxon sounds to signify the start of the final.
- The anglers then fish to try and catch the heaviest weight in fish over the duration of the final (which is usually around 5-6 hours).
- Every half an hour, there is a weigh in of fish caught by all the anglers in the previous hour. The weight of this catch is recorded, the fish returned to the lake and a leaderboard develops. This is updated at each subsequent weigh in.
- At the end of the match, the angler with the heaviest weight in fish caught wins.
Where is Fish O Mania held and when?
This year’s Fish O Mania will take place on Saturday 22nd July at Westwood Lakes in Boston, Lincolnshire.
However, in previous years the Finals have been held at different venues across the UK including Hayfield Lakes, Cudmore Fisheries, Mallory Park, Hallcroft Fisheries
What Are The Most Popular Fish O Mania Betting Markets?
You have to head to the Specials section at Bet365 Sport to find the current Fish O Mania odds and they are usually only available in the couple of weeks leading up to the final itself.
There is just one betting market you can wager on – who will win the event outright.
This year’s shortest price options are:
- Jamie Hughes – 5/1
- Kristian Jones – 6/1
- Andy Power – 10/1
- Matthew Dawes – 12/1
- John Alexander, Ross Harold, Harry Bignall, Jordan Webster – 14/1
- Mikey Williams, Jon Arthur – 16/1
- Charlie Law, 18/1
- Ian Giddins, Mark Griffiths, Steve Openshaw – 20/1
- Daniel Squire – 22/1
- David Shires, Andrew Crocker – 25/1
- Max Beeston, Simon Dement – 28/1
- Ricky Small – 33/1
- Kayleigh Dowd, John Jones – 40/1
- Ibran Mertens, Oliver Robinson – 50/1
- Marvin Rotteger – 66/1
Anglers shown in bold are previous Fish O Mania winners. Odds shown were correct at the time of writing but will likely change in the meantime.
Who Are The Fish O Mania’s Most Successful Anglers?
The most successful angler in the history of Fish O Mania is Jamie Hughes from the Wirral.
He is the only angler to have won the event three times.
Two anglers landed two victories; Matt Hall (2003 and 2009) and Andy Bennett (2019 and 2020)
Who Are Fish O Mania’s Previous Winners?
So, the full list of winners for Fish O Mania since the first tournament is as follows:
- 1994 – Ian Turner
- 1995 – Andy Jennings
- 1996 – Dave Pimlott
- 1997 – Kevin Rowles
- 1998 – Steve Ringer
- 1999 – Steve Cooke
- 2000 – Geoff Ringer
- 2001 – Steve Jackson
- 2002 – Nathan Watson
- 2003 – Matt Hall
- 2004 – Rob Hitchens
- 2005 – Marc Jones
- 2006 – Neil Machin
- 2007 – Clive Wright
- 2008 – Mick Bull
- 2009 – Matt Hall (2nd win)
- 2010 – Neil McKinnon
- 2011 – Shane Atkin
- 2012 – Warren Martin
- 2013 – Jamie Hughes
- 2014 – Andrew Geldart
- 2015 – Jamie Hughes (2nd win)
- 2016 – Andy May
- 2017 – Jamie Hughes (3rd win)
- 2018 – Pete Black
- 2019 – Andy Bennett
- 2020 – Andy Bennett (2nd win)
- 2021 – Harry Bignell
- 2022 – Kristian Jones
Fish O Mania is live every year on Sky Sports with the match getting underway at 12pm until 5pm, and Sky Sports show starts at 11.30am.
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